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However, before you put this down to yet another example of Western immorality, just remember that all
these babies will have the same legal rights as those born to married couples.

This trend is part of the wider decline of marriage as an institution. According to a recent study, the figures
for people getting married in Britain is at its lowest ever since these statistics began to be compiled nearly
150 years ago.

In 2008, only 21.8 per thousand adult men of marriageable age actually took the vow. At 19.6, the figure
for women was even lower. And the average age for men getting married for the first time was 32, and for
women it was nearly 30.

These figures reveal not so much disillusionment with the institution of marriage, as much as they do a
widespread rejection of religion.

Church marriages are still favoured by the middle classes, but more for the pomp and glamour of the
wedding dress worn by the bride, and the finery sported by the guests. Indeed, attendance for church
services has fallen steadily, and most Brits only go to church for weddings and funerals.

A glance at the European table reveals that the belief in a god is generally quite low in all the major
countries.

Sweden, with only 23 per cent of the population believing in a deity, is the least observant, with the UK at
38 per cent. Germany and France are similarly atheistic or agnostic. Interestingly, Catholic countries seem
to be more staunchly Christian, with Poles, Spaniards and Italians being among the most fervent of
believers.

Indeed, a lack of belief in a supreme being has long been the hallmark of Western intellectual thought since
the Enlightenment of the 18th century.

Hence, lawmakers have tried to separate religion form politics, few more so than the Founding Fathers of
the United States. Both Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin were fiercely agnostic in their views.

Scientists, too, have tended to question the belief system they were born into, as revealed by this quotation
from Albert Einstein: ³Science has been charged with undermining morality, but the charge is unjust. A
man¶s ethical behaviour should be based on sympathy, education and social ties and needs; no religious
basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and
hope of reward after death.´

Many have condemned modern Western civilization for its µgodless¶ ways, pointing to widespread
cohabitation between men and women, men and men, and women and women. Alcoholism, nudity and
drug-abuse are also frequently cited.

All these lifestyle choices are mentioned in arguments over the superiority of Eastern religions and societies.
Yet the firm belief in religion and an afterlife in our part of the world do not necessarily translate into better
societies.

In the Transparency International table for global perceptions of corruption for 2009, there is not a single
Muslim country in the twenty most honest states. However, seven Muslim countries figure among the ten
most corrupt states.
Interestingly, Sweden, the most godless state in Europe, comes in at joint third with Singapore as the least
corrupt country in the world.

There is an argument that corruption is a function of poverty, and once societies have acquired a measure of
economic well-being, they tend to become more honest and accountable. While there is some truth to this
assertion, how to explain the fact that Saudi Arabia, one of the richest countries in the world, is listed as
63rd by TI?

And Kuwait comes in at 68. Clearly, then, there is little direct linkage between religion and morality.

Nevertheless, billions around the world continue to believe deeply in the faith they have grown up in. They
derive comfort from following the belief system of their forefathers, and most of them have never felt the
need to question it.

Indeed, the poor obtain solace for their wretched condition with the promise of compensation in the afterlife.
And the rich in our part of the world try and assuage their guilt by giving alms generously, thereby hoping to
buy a place in heaven. If only they would pay their taxes with the same zeal, we might be able to make a
better world in this life.

In religiously inclined societies like Pakistan, we are fond of criticising Western materialism, while holding up
our supposed spirituality as being superior.

Even the millions of Muslims who have chosen to migrate to the West make the same assertion. However, I
have not noticed any of these people denying themselves the conveniences and the advantages of these
same µmaterialistic¶ societies. And frankly, I do not see too much evidence of our vaunted µspirituality¶ in our
behaviour or attitudes.

These differences have been sharpened after 9/11, with more and more people in the West now seeing
Islam and Muslims as being behind the rise in extremist violence in much of the world. Muslims, for their
part, see themselves as victims of a rising Islamophobia.

Interestingly, the trend towards atheism and agnosticism is far less marked in the United States than in
Europe. Well below five per cent of Americans assert they do not believe in any god.

Indeed, some Evangelical Christians in America think they have more in common with Muslims than the
µgodless Europeans¶.

One reason it is so difficult for many Muslims to become assimilated into the societies they have chosen to
live in is the huge cultural differences they encounter.

Generally coming from deeply conservative backgrounds, they are shocked with the free and easy lifestyle
they encounter.

Rather than encouraging their children to integrate, they seek to insulate them from Western values, thus
causing a state of mild schizophrenia in second- generation immigrants.

Some of these young people become quickly radicalised, and seek clarity in the black-and-white world of
religious extremism.

Unfortunately, too many of them lack the education to realise that ultimately, no set of beliefs or values is
inherently inferior or superior to another.
Morality, as we have seen, is not the monopoly of any faith: an atheist can be more ethical than a religious
person. At the end of the day, what matters is that humans behave with consideration and decency, and
avoid imposing their beliefs on others.
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